Reviews by Bendurgin:

Poured into a tulip. This one pours like black oil, no real head on this one.

The aroma is real good on this. Lots of dark bittersweet chocolate with dark fruit on the aroma like raisins and figs. Seams to have a bit if smoke on the aroma with nice barrel notes. The pallet has a nice sweet bitter chocolate aroma with hints of fruit and robust malts.

The body is thick and silky with low carbonation. Overall a solid brew. (426 characters)

More User Reviews:

I picked up a bottle of Thirsty Dog's Bourbon Barrel Aged Siberian Night Imperial Stout last week for $5.99 at The Lager Mill. I've had Siberian Night more than a few times, but I've never had the barrel aged version and I've heard good things about it, so lets see how it goes. 2015 Vintage. Poured from a brown 12oz gold foil bottle into a snifter.

A- The label looks nice, it's like a combination of Wulver and Siberian Night and I think the gold foil makes it a little eye catching. It poured a nice dark black color that didn't let any light come through and it had a little over a fingers worth of light mocha colored head that died down to to a thin ring that stayed till the end and it left some sticky and patchy lacing behind. This is very nice looking beer, I have no complaints.

S- The aroma starts off with a slightly higher amount of medium sweetness with the bourbon barrels being the first to show up and they impart a nice mixture of oak, bourbon and vanilla aromas coming through. Up next comes a big milk chocolate aroma that leads into some dark roasted malts that impart some roasted, sweet malt and light caramel like aromas. This beer had a very nice aroma that was just what I would expect from the style.

T- The taste seems to be similar to the aroma and it starts off with a higher amount of medium sweetness with milk chocolate being the first to show up and it's just a little lighter than it was in the aroma and it's followed by the dark roasted malts which impart the same aspects that they did in the aroma. Up next comes the barrels which impart the same aspects that they did in the aroma, but this time they are a little lighter. On the finish there's no bitterness with some sweetness and just some slight alcohol flavors coming through with some milk chocolate and bourbon barrel flavors showing up in the aftertaste. This was a good tasting beer, it had everything that I look for in the style, but I wish it was just a little bolder.

M- Smooth, the alcohol was well hidden, not too crisp, a little velvety, on the lighter side of being full bodied with a lower amount of medium carbonation. This beer had a good mouthfeel that worked well with it.

Overall I thought this was a good beer and a good example of the style, it had pretty much everything that I look for in the style with all the key flavors showed up and the alcohol was very well hidden. This beer had good drinkability, it was smooth, the alcohol was well hidden, not too crisp, a little velvety, slightly filling and the taste did a good job at holding my attention, i think one is the perfect amount for me. What I like the most about this beer was the balance and the aroma, they were both very nice and they were the highlights of this beer. What I liked the least about this beer was that the taste wasn't just a little bolder like the aroma was. I would buy this beer again, it's a little expensive, but I think it's worth it. I would recommend this to anyone who likes Bourbon Barrel Aged Stouts. All in all I was pretty happy with this beer, i knew going in to this beer that it had a solid base and in the end it ended up working well with the bourbon barrels. I still think Wulver is my favorite from this brewery, but it's one of the better Thirsty Dog beers I've had and it's a pretty good and above average example of the style. Good job guys, this was a tasty beer, keep it up. (3,425 characters)

A: Pours a clear yet opaque jet black in color with slightly more than moderate amounts of active visible carbonation at the edges near the surface of the glass and some faint dark cola brown highlights. The beer has a half finger tall creamy dark mocha head that reduces to a medium to large patch of very thin film with a thin ring at the edges of the glass. Moderate amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Moderate aromas of roasted and burnt malts with moderate to heavy amounts of bourbon, vanilla, and oak.

T: Moderate to strong flavors of roasted, chocolate, and burnt malts with some bittersweet chocolate notes. There are fairly strong flavors from the bourbon barrel aging of bourbon, vanilla, and lighter oakiness. Light hints of alcohol and some hints of bitterness in the finish.

M: Full bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Moderate amounts of dryness and some alcohol warming in the finish.

O: This is a really enjoyable bourbon barrel aged beer and definitely one that I would recommend. The alcohol is relatively well hidden but this is definitely a sipping beer. (1,088 characters)

Siberian Night is an appropriate name for such a libation. It's a black hole of a beer. Milk chocolate tinted foam grows to a finger in height on a hard pour. While the head does fall rather quickly to a thick ring and island of foam it does become creamy and luxurious. Drink lines coat the glass with each swallow.

The nose is rich, deep, and dark but all within reasonable balance. Dark chocolate, cocoa, ganache, and fudge are all present. When that depth of chocolate is married with the bourbon and barrel notes it's a match meant to be. the barrel aging adds vanilla and loads of wood notes that bring to mind pecans nuttiness. As this beer warms a solid roastiness evolves reminiscent of black coffee. Last but not least is a peppery alcohol bite. This stout really does have it all, in the nose department at least.

We get even more on the palate. Dark berries emerge, slightly sweet and ripe. The chocolate doesn't have as much depth but it's certainly still there with dark chocolate and fudge. Again, the barrel adds pecan nuttiness, a good helping of vanilla, oak, and a welcomed but soft sweetness. All flavor components are well integrated and in good balance. Each drink is slightly different from the last, something popping up here and something else popping up there.

The body is luxuriantly velvety with a density that fits well. The weight lies somewhere just short of full, there's none of that sickly sweet stickiness that are in so many beers of this size. With that explained, this beer is very drinkable for its abv. 12oz bottle is probably a better idea than a 22.

I've had a soft spot for Siberian Night since the first year I'd gotten into craft beer. It's still a damn good beer to me as a matter of fact. The bourbon edition? Yowza! It's a doozy. The balance is great, no one aspect dominates. Do yourself a favor and buy this beer. (1,924 characters)

Poured into a snifter jet black with a deep beige head that leaves a little lace as it settles quickly.Wow alot of fruitiness in the nose along with sweet alcohol,toast,and light vanilla,the alcohol is quite big but appetizing.Full and just as lush as all get out in the feel,to me it's perfect with the mellow carbonation and fullness.Fruity and vinious on the palate, the thick feel makes it even better,bourbon soaked dark fruit and vanilla with real butterscotch flavor in the finish.I have been wanting a beer lately to blow me away,this did.One of the best of 2013 for me. (578 characters)

Big thanks to umich03jm for bringing this to the tasting. It pours a super-deep shade of brown, just outside the realm of black, with a tan, quarter-inch head that's really more akin a fine layer of skin on the brew. It fizzles outward into a clump of foam circling the beer, leaving the top portion open to the air. No lacing as far as I can tell.

Bourbon barrel aging isn't hidden in this brew, as the first sniff brings forth heavy amounts of both bourbon and wood. I haven't had the base beer to be able to see the contrast, but I can say that this iteration is nearly all barrel on the nose. Mild vanilla, back-end coconut, and again, more boozy oak. The only aroma that likely isn't a consequence of barrel aging is a faint trace of cocoa nib sweetness that plays throughout the bold profile.

As the aroma would indicate, the first thing that assaults my taste buds is a huge spike of bourbon; much to my contentment, though, it's actually not hot at all, and it's really quite smooth. The flavor, however, is quite potent, and very heavy, almost as if a straight shot of bourbon was poured directly into the stout. Lots of oak, coconut, and mild vanilla undertones mellow out the bourbon and round out the barrel-aged flavors.

Undernearth the bourbon barrel bashing, there lies a mildly sweet undercarriage made up of burnt, caramelized sugar, mildly roasted malts, and a pinch of chocolate. Once the boozy warmth has time to disperse, the beer is actually quite sweet in the finish with some dry oak to hammer down the finish. Medium bodied, maybe not as heavy as I like my "big" stouts, but it gets the job done. Sufficient carbonation for a smooth, silky mouth feel.

Pretty decent barrel-aged stout exhibiting a pretty decent balance of warmth and sweetness when all was said and done. The only problem I have is that the actual bourbon barrel flavors are a bit too forward and cover up much of anything else. In that sense, it kind of gets lost in a sea full of bourbon barrel stouts that don't quite have the delicate touch of similar style, world class offerings. Decent, nonetheless, but not a world beater. (2,125 characters)

Thirsty Dog takes what is already pretty much a beast of a beer and dials it up a few notches with 11 months in bourbon barrels. The barrel flavor really takes a firm hold of this beer, though the aging certainly smooths everything out. Hunt a bottle down—you’ll be happy you did.

No bottle date. Had this right after the non-BA version. Pours black with a large-sized light brown head. Smells of roasted malts, bourbon, and cocoa. The taste follow closely, very similar to the smell. Medium body and medium-high carbonation. Overall, a well-rounded and satisfying BA stout. The BA version has more carbonation (surprisingly) and some good bourbon notes. (380 characters)